Adam Pollock Joins Areté to Lead Workout-as-a-Service Platform

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, October 7, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Adam Pollock, a seasoned executive with nearly three decades of experience in private credit, restructuring, and operating roles, has joined Areté as Senior Managing Director. Pollock will lead the company's Workout-as-a-Service (WaaS) platform, which is designed to assist lenders and other capital providers managing distressed, stressed, or transitional investments.

Pollock's extensive background includes a pivotal role as a founding member of Stellus Capital Management, a leading U.S. direct lender focused on the lower-middle market with approximately $4 billion in assets under management. At Stellus, Pollock held senior responsibilities across origination, underwriting, and portfolio management, and led the firm's West Coast origination efforts.

Prior to Stellus, Pollock served as Chief Restructuring Officer of the D. E. Shaw Direct Capital Group, where he managed value-creation and restructuring initiatives across a roughly $3.5 billion portfolio of middle-market investments. His earlier career included interim management and strategic advisory roles for sponsor-backed companies, as well as experience at Ernst & Young Corporate Finance, LLC, where he helped lead North American transaction advisory efforts in the power and oil & gas sectors.

Pollock's perspective on the WaaS platform is grounded in his extensive experience. "We have been in the lender's seat," Pollock said.

Areté's Shawn Hassel emphasized the significance of Pollock's background.

Over the next year, Pollock will focus on building the WaaS platform, recruiting its team, and expanding relationships with lenders and other capital providers nationwide. Areté, with offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Park City, Utah, partners with clients nationwide to bring clarity, alignment, and momentum to complex organizations.

With Pollock's expertise, Areté aims to provide senior restructuring, operational, underwriting, board-level, and change-of-control expertise to credit stakeholders when they lack the internal bandwidth or specialized resources to manage a situation themselves. The WaaS platform is designed to help credit-oriented investors determine what to do when a borrower or investment needs more than additional capital.